Dear friends
We have greatly appreciated all the wonderful support from all of you LOTR fans out there. The Road to the Shire is thriving and its all because of the awesomeness of all of you. It's really amazing to see the kindness, generosity, and passion of fellow fans. Occasionally we get some nay-Sayers or people that seem to have a negative reaction to what we are doing. We have tried to address the concerns presented below by highlighting a recent question on our guestbook.
(Question submitted by Adam see guestbook for details)
@Adam
You've mentioned that you have looked at our site. Perhaps we can point out some information that is easily found.
1. Road to the Shire is a social experiment meant to bring Tolkien fans together to see if it is possible to interact with one of the greatest stories/films of all time.
2. We have made quite public from the very beginning that we are making a documentary about the whole process and effort.
3. Is it possible? Absolutely.
4. What about our height? Do you know the height of Martin Freeman? Elijah Wood? 5'7" and 5'6". Most anyone that has paid any attention to the films know that Hobbits are shot with two actors (one average size, and one little person). They are not really 3ft tall. Using forced depth of field and doubles the hobbit effect is created. They also use compositing. I would recommend the DVD extra features on any of the trilogy films as a reference. Any scene you see Bilbo or Frodo with other Hobbits there are average size people playing the hobbits around them. This is why they have two sets for each scene (one scale, and one large than life)
5. Have we ever specified what "extra" means? Well we've tried about a million times to say that we just want to be involved--as extras (in any fashion: men, elves, tree stumps, orcs, anything...OR we've said we'd be willing to be water boys, elvish squires, pages in the shops of Weta, or interns, anything for Peter.
6. Will we feel guilty about creating this once in a lifetime event and trying to bring fans together and promote one of the coolest films of all time wilst making a documentary about the whole thing? No. Absolutely not.
7. Work visas? Have we ever suggested that we would require payment for our role as "extras?" No. If you are not "working" you do not require a visa. Also it is not impossible to get a work visa. People's imaginations are so limited in this one. Other extras have been selected who are not New Zealanders (see internet). The goals of Road to the Shire are very clear: Bring Fans together, see if they could really have an influence, document the experience, try to do something that's never been done before with fans interacting with a movie, promote the film and generate excitement for its release. Are we working? Yes. Very hard. We have jobs and second full-time jobs in trying to promote road to the shire. Is there any kind of sneaky motive? Not at all. If we succeed, everyone who has supported us will have claim on our success and bragging rights to any success we achieve. It's not about us Hobbitses. It's about fans. We're not sure how we can make this more clear, but we will try our hardest.
8. Why money? Well simply put, as we are working our hardest to pull together funds to a. get Peter's attention, b. fly to New Zealand, and c. to make a documentary it will cost money. We are contributing as much as we can ourselves. Can we do it alone? No. Is it wrong to try to raise additional funds with help from those who share our interest and dream? Not at all. Again it's not about money, it's about the power and capacity of fandom. Hope this helps to clarify. I mean we thought we said this but apparently no matter how hard you try some people just make up their mind before really taking the time to find out. If you have any questions we'd be happy to talk with you--literally. You can reach us at roadtotheshire@gmail.com
To all you fans and supporters, thank you for being willing to dream with us.
Toad, Beri, and Olo
The Hobbits of Road to the Shire
We love you. Really.
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